Where is the rider community in Beijing? A Chengdu rider is visiting

Did a quick search... I am in BJ this week and hoped to meet with some riders. I know there are some avid riders in BJ... don't know any in CD.

Short story, I live in Chengdu and have the cash in my account dedicated to buying something. Still a bit dubious about buying something locally, am pondering buying up here and riding back.

Would love to meet some riders. Last bike was a BMW K1200RS in the USA... Currently considering buying a Honda 900 dual-sport, naked CB1300 and a BMW GS (but I'm scared it will vanish on me). All those bikes come from GZ to CD, low miles, but a dubious heritage. You can pay up another 4-6000RMB for a "real" number plate, but I'm still wondering if I can buy from a BJ dealer and ship or ride it back. I hope to move to BJ one day so I'd like to be legal, if it's reasonably within my means.

Please let me know if there are any Beijing hangouts, scheduled hangs, or stray BMW riders who can be a resource. PM me for mobile number. Beers are on me.

Keith

G'Day,

Iron Horse Saloon next to Jim's shop: http://www.bmwsidecar.com
Quite a few hard core bike shops in the same compound.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LDrider

...Would love to meet some riders. Last bike was a BMW K1200RS in the USA... Currently considering buying a Honda 900 dual-sport, naked CB1300 and a BMW GS (but I'm scared it will vanish on me). All those bikes come from GZ to CD, low miles, but a dubious heritage. You can pay up another 4-6000RMB for a "real" number plate, but I'm still wondering if I can buy from a BJ dealer and ship or ride it back. I hope to move to BJ one day so I'd like to be legal, if it's reasonably within my means.
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Dear Keith,

Welcome to MCM. Apart from the exceedingly bad karma associated with buying a bike that you know has been nicked in HK and smuggled to Chengdu, you must also prepare for the trauma you'll face in this world when your stolen wonderbike takes out a jaywalking girl (ask slabo) or a couple of schoolgirls who jump out from behind a bus (ask shanghaifingers) or rearends a suddenly stopping sedan (ask SoberPete) and the cops discover that your bike is hot and your plates are fake and, hence, your insurance if you've bought it is invalid and you're suddenly facing 15 days mandatory minimum stay in the local jail and once you get out your liability is automatically pegged at 100% because of the hot bike and illegal plates.

Who you gonna call?

You are no longer in the US. Get used to it. You can get a GS here, legally, but it'll cost you some coin. A lot of coin. But that is the price of being legal and responsible in China. You might even find a legal CB1300 or Honda 900, though these are exceedingly rare (legal ones, that is) and will be at least a dozen years old, having been imported back before China began severely limiting imports. You are in China. You can have a wonderful motorcycling experience here; many of us do. But it will be either super expensive with a legal import or less expensive with a China bike. Fortunately, the range of choice of China bikes is growing, even as more and more cities ban bikes from the CBD. (Isn't Chengdu a banned CBD?)

I don't mean to put you down, or curb your enthusiasm. But the sooner you accept that China is going to put severe constraints on the freedoms you enjoyed as a motorcyclist in America, the better and safer and more real your experience will be. So please take some time with advanced search, and learn what you are getting into. I hope you do find a community of riders in Chengdu, and get a legal bike of your own, and start posting about your experiences in MCM for the benefit of those who follow!

You'll indeed find a very friendly circle of MCM members in Beijing.

Good luck and be safe.

cheers

I really do "got it". In my post, I say that the thing I am trying to do in BJ is see if I can get a legal bike and drive or ship it to CD so I am trying to meet the local riders in person. In every city in which I have lived, riders hand out somewhere on certain nights. To be clear: my goal is to buy a legal bike. I can't seem to find such a thing (HOG excluded) in Chengdu. I wondered if it may be better to import a bike to another province. I am in BJ and thought this was the biggest riding community, esp BMW. How does one meet the riders? Anyone know? Anyone up for a free beer and some war stories? I'm 26 years on street bikes and I know some good limericks. I am trying to avoid getting the sales pitch on a 2013 R1200GS... I know there are legal options under 30.0000RMB. I'm willing to ride a capable Japanese dualsport or full-liter standard if I must (I just worry about the local wrenching and parts availability if I choose to DIY). The cautionary tales are appreciated, but I'm looking for the how-to-do, not don't-do-this to buy a legal bike if someone can help. Zero disrespect intended. I'm really trying to avoid a Congqing-made Galaxy 250.

And, yes, inside 2nd-ring does indeed have restrictions the nature of which no one is quite certain, from the salespeople and police to the local riders, both Chinese and foreign alike. If you aren't a squid, no one bothers you, they act like you're driving "a mile over". Don't make them have to stop you and they do their best to not see you. Local LEOs helped my friend push his Ninja down the street when his battery died in the middle of Tianfu Square, and he got a thumbs-up from a marked PD vehicle by the uniformed officers inside on Renminnanlu mid-day in bumper-to-bumper. You won't catch me in either of these situations but that's been my friend's experience. If you live within 2nd-Ring-Road, be cool, drive the bike away from the CBD and into the villages, not to Carrefour to pick up butter. But there's always someone who pushes the limit and gets dinged every few months.

No offense intended, none taken. (Just don't buy a bootleg bike!)

The Iron Horse Saloon and Jimbo's sidecar shop as suggested by TB_Racing are definitely the best place to start in Beijing. You've missed out on meeting Chinabiker, who recently took his GS home to Austria. Lao Jia Hou has a stable of China bikes in Beijing, and more back home in Canada.

Lots of active riders in Beijing who, like me, are making do with China's best (but sometimes problematic) bikes -- Jialings, CFMotos, local Suzukis, Yamahas and Hondas, Shinerays, Galaxys, QianJiang/Benellis, Yingangs, etc. Most choices are 250cc and under, which won't feel like much after a 1200GS, but there's a growing range of 600-650cc choices, which still won't measure up to a GS but can deliver you and your gear and a pillion with a lot of fun and adventure.

Let us know what you find!

cheers

Welcome to Beijing.

Beijing prices for new bikes are certainly at least as much as anywhere else. I don't think you will find any bargains here, although you might see a wider selection. But you need to travel around to find the dealers. They are not clustered together, and tend to be in obscure locations. And Beijing traffic makes shopping around a whole day affair.

As for plating a legal bike in Beijing. By far the easiest way to do it is to have the fapiao from a Beijing dealer. There are "special rules" for bringing a legal bike from another province, and these rules do not make it easy.

Feel free to PM any of the BJ members of MCM for assistance.